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1,000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire: Expanded Edition
| Our Price |
$ 13.22
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| Retail Value |
$ 16.95 |
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$ 3.73 (22%) |
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| Item Number |
1501610 |
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Item Description...
Product Description
Expanded edition with new chapters on the Great Crash of 2008 and looking ahead. Self-made billionaire Sam Wyly is a natural storyteller. In this candid, engrossing memoir, he recounts his experiences establishing and expanding companies on the leading edge of advancements in technology, energy, retail, and investments over the last five decades. From the hardships his family faced trying to hold on to their cotton farm during the Depression to the coaching he received on the high school football field, Wyly describes how his early years in Louisiana prepared him for what lay ahead. Risking $1,000 of his savings, Wyly founded University Computing in 1963 and took it public two years later, becoming a millionaire at the age of thirty. Throughout this book, he reveals the decisions and strategies behind his many business successes, including founding Sterling Software, growing the small chains of Michaels Stores and Bonanza Steakhouses into nationwide brands, and founding Green Mountain Energy, the largest provider of cleaner energy in America today. In this expanded edition, Wyly discusses the "Great Crash of 2008" in historical perspective, offering insights on the causes of our current financial crisis and the path to recovery--including the importance of green energy for the future.
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Item Specifications...
Pages 304
Dimensions: Length: 8.8" Width: 6" Height: 0.9"
Weight: 0.8 lbs.
Binding Softcover
Release Date Sep 29, 2009
ISBN 1557048487
EAN 9781557048486
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Availability 0 units.
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Reviews - What do our customers think?
 | Ok, but misses its mark Jan 7, 2010 |
I love reading books about successful entrepreneurs and started out with the same mindframe as I dived into this one about Sam Wyly (who I had never heard of before previously). I'm halfway
through the book and have decided to stop reading. The main reason is that Mr. Wyly's ego seems to get in the way of the lessons you picked up the book in the first place for.
By page 175, he's probably bragged about himself being a shrewd investor and entrepreneur for the 40th time. Furthermore, there was one statement that really irked me around page 125 when he said you have to know the difference between being a successful entrepreneur and one who just sits around and reads books about successful ones. Maybe its just me but, didn't he just insult his audience? Who do you think is reading this book hotshot? Way to go on that one...
If you're looking for some good entrepreneurial lessons, I recommend Warren Buffet and Richard Branson. Far superior in business lessons, and 10x more humble. | | |  | Entertaining, but objective only partially met Dec 21, 2009 |
This is an excellent book on what a highly successful entrepreneur achieved, using his skill sets and nearly no other advantages.
It's entertainingly written and among the autobiographical books written by highly successful entrepreneurs, I regard this as the best. I've never read the Alfred Sloan's book though, which Bill Gates regard as the best. The author Wyly respects is Peter Drucker, who I also never read fully.
This is not a book on a successful businessman's business thinking processes, a topic which is rarely seen in any business autobiographical book I've read. Such a book would be more valuable--that is, reviewing the many variables he was faced with, and making a decision. The book does cover this in a very limited sense. Perhaps a genius as Wyly can't understand how what is so obvious to him isn't understood by others. These are the topics that are more valuable to teach in a book like this.
Still, the best of its type. Not the sharing of wisdom on entrepreneurship, as indicated was much of his goal in writing this book.
| | |  | Very entertaining and inspirational. Nov 11, 2009 |
| I thought this was a great book (I listened to the audiobook). It was entertaining and it inspired me. Highly recommended! | | | | Helpful insights and business history (last 50 years in US) Oct 31, 2009 |
The author's candor, wit, wisdom and vast experience over the past fifty years were appreciated. I found the book
inspiring reading and have passed it along to several friends/relatives. Wyly's writing style makes for painless and
fast reading. | | | | Good book, fun read! Apr 18, 2009 |
| You have to understand firsthand that this book is not a self-help or a "teach yourself how to be a manager/entrepreneur" book. The people who rated this book poorly seemed to go about reading it in the wrong way. Rather, it is an interesting autobiography about a man who many have never heard of, and yet has made important and lasting impacts on American business. It's not dense like a lot of autobiographies--in fact I thought it was quite a page-turner. There are lots of neat little gems that you can pick up from the things he says, and if you are an astute and careful reader, there are a lot of consistent, underlying themes throughout the book. If you are looking for super-concentrated management guide, this is not the book for you. But if you want a good story about an impressive person with skills you can apply to yourself, this is a good one to read. | | | Write your own review about 1,000 Dollars and an Idea: Entrepreneur to Billionaire: Expanded Edition
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